These are all valid questions - after all, nabbing one of these processors will make for a costly adventure, given you’ll need to change over to a new AM5 motherboard, find a compatible CPU cooler and grab some DDR5 RAM if you want to build a Ryzen 7000 based PC. To make things easier, we’ve rounded up the cheapest prices we can find for each of the four Ryzen 7000 processors across both UK and US retailers. First, here’s a table with all the essential information - where to find the lowest prices on each Ryzen 7000 chip in the US and UK:
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (£780/$680)
If it’s the most powerful new Ryzen 7000 chip you’re after, then you’ll want to check out the Ryzen 9 7950X. With 16 cores and 32 threads, it’s a proper powerhouse of a CPU that should be an especially formidable choice for not only gaming, but also content creation, where AMD says the processor should really shine. Of course, as the 7000 series supports DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 too, you’ll also be able to take advantage of more newfound speed to make those intense tasks more of a breeze.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (£580/$530)
A little step down from the Ryzen 9 7950X both in specs and indeed in price is the 7900X. We noted in our Ryzen 9 7900X review that this CPU is a great choice for content creation and gaming alike, thanks to the steep gen-on-gen gains and high core count. The most visible advancement here is the sky-high maximum boost clock, which is rated at 5.6GHz.
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X (£429/$380)
For those who may not need the all out power afforded by the Ryzen 9 chips, the Ryzen 7 7700X offers a great mid-range option for the new processors. Make no bones about it though, this is still an excellent processor for most people and will be more than speedy enough for gaming. Benchmarks suggest that the 7700X actually offers rather similar performance in titles to the more expensive chips above, all from an eight core and 16 thread chip, which is marvellous, and of course, the benefits of PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 are more than welcome.
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X (£326/$285)
The Ryzen 5 7600X might be the cheapest processor in the new 7000 series lineup, but it’s certainly no slouch. This mid-range part offers surprisingly similar gaming performance to the higher end chips, and offers a bigger fps increase over its last-gen counterpart than the Ryzen 9 7900X. Moreover, a boost clock of 5.3GHz means that AMD has broke the 5GHz barrier on every processor in the lineup, which is testament to how powerful each of them are.
Frequently asked questions
What motherboards support Ryzen 7000?
AMD’s X670E, X670, B650E and B650 motherboards all support Ryzen 7000 out of the box. X670E offers PCIe 5.0 throughout, X670 offers PCIe 5.0 for storage and graphics, and B650 offers PCIe 5.0 for storage only. In general, as you progress from X670E to B650, expect fewer features, fewer PCIe lanes and lower prices - although no doubt we’ll see cheaper X670E and premium B650 boards that will blur the lines between the four different chipsets. X670 and X670E debut in September, while B650 and B650E arrive in October. Anandtech has a great article that goes more into depth on the differences between the various chipsets.
What memory is best for Ryzen 7000?
Unlike Intel’s 12th-gen and 13th-gen CPUs, Ryzen 7000 is a DDR5-only platform, so your older DDR4 RAM won’t work here. Instead, you’ll need to pick up a new kit of DDR5, which starts at DDR5-4800 and goes up to DDR5-6400 and beyond. The usual RAM buying advice applies here. First, get two or four sticks to ensure you’re running in dual channel mode, as using a single stick suffers from a severe performance penalty. Secondly, make sure you enable XMP, DOCP or EXPO in your motherboard’s BIOS to ensure that you’re getting the rated speeds - you can check your current RAM speed with a free tool like CPU-Z or Windows 11’s Task Manager.
What CPU coolers support Ryzen 7000 / AM5?
All existing AM4 coolers that screw into or clip onto AMD’s default AM4 backplate work with AM5 motherboards as well/those that use custom backplates don’t work. Expect CPU cooler makers that did use custom backplates to create kits or entirely new designs to accommodate the new fixed AM5 backplate. Well, there you have it - the best prices for AMD’s all-new Ryzen 7000 series of processors and a little advice too. Let us know if you spot one of these CPUs for a lower price, and stay tuned to @dealsfoundry on Twitter for more PC deals as we find them.
